XmaSaga of Light: For Love and Friendship
by SirAngelo
Summary: With their first Christmas back home, Kairi, Riku, and Sora each go through their own trials to express their love to the people that matter the most to them. A Saga of Light Side Story! Late-Xmas WAFF. Please enjoy, everyone!
1. Kairi

_I know, elephant in the room. I more or less vanished again...if anyone remembers me and is still following my stuff. Don't blame anyone otherwise. I don't want to go into details with this stuff, but I've had many ups and downs in my personal life recently. Combined with shrinking free time and some bad cases of writer's block... it's all on me. I apologize if anyone feels frustrated with that stuff._

 _Anyways, I still wanted to do something. I have gotten the bug recently just to write some Kingdom Hearts fluff. Then I got this idea in my head, Christmas time is always a good time for fluff (even though I am three days late), but I still wanted to do this._

 _I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas, their winter, their holidays, their families, their loved ones, whichever and whoever. I hope you enjoy this story to, thank you all, take care._

 _Also, if anyone finds any incongruities regarding canon and characters, that is because this is suppose to taking place after the end of_ She Will Light The Way _. Just a little fact to keep in mind while you're reading._

 _Anyways, enough from me, enjoy everyone!_

* * *

 **-Kairi-**

Christmastime had come to the sprawling, sunny archipelago known as the Destiny Islands. And while no flurries of snow would visit the Islands, the citizens and towns were all alight with unabashed festive cheer in anticipation of the many joys the holidays brought. Even if this time of year could turn into a mad ball of stress and chaos and haphazardly overlapping traditions and rituals, almost everyone had something they looks forward to and enjoy to their heart's content.

On the small island of Saka-Ama, in the township of Salm, there were three such people who all had their own plans and ideas and traditions for the Christmas season. Three less than ordinary and more than extraordinary people that had experienced enough extreme situations and insanity, that they were looking forward to insanity of a more mundane variety.

Sora Kido, Keyblade Warrior of Heart, and a general font of joy and happiness.

Kairi Shiratori, Keyblade Warrior of Light, and a general font of joy and generosity.

Riku Akiyama, Keyblade Warrior of Darkness, and a general grouch.

The three Bearers of the Keyblade had finally returned home after their various journeys scattered them to the corners of the universe. They found one another, they found themselves, ventured to the far corners of existence, battled against threats and monsters and villains of all stock and sundry, and saved all worlds and all people (multiple times, in Sora's case). And while they couldn't quite return to an everyday normal life, they were looking forward to their first Christmas at home and with each other, since that fateful, stormy night.

With school let out for the day, the three of them were gathered outside a small cafe to let out some steam from the long school week, being accompanied by three of Kairi's school friends – Selphie, Garnet, and Rydia. The girls were all still dressed in their school uniforms – tartan skirts and dark blue blazers – showcasing their attendance at Lady Shimomura's Private Secondary School, whereas the boys were still dressed in casual, everyday attire – a nod and benefit to attending public school.

"Ugh, I don't know if I can do this anymore." Riku groaned, slouched in his chair, nursing his second cup of coffee. "School. It's just such a drag, day after day, week after week. It's just so boring and pointless." The girls were all chattering about something, and paid him no mind. He did this often enough that most of them had learned to tune him out.

"Okay, settle down drama queen." Sora replied with a teasing smile. "No one wants to be in school this time a year, but, y'know, two more weeks of class and then we're off for winter break. It'll breeze by."

Riku continued, unabated by his friend's words. "I'm dropping out sooner than later. Definitely. I can't stand this."

"Seriously, Riku? Drop out? What would you do with yourself without finishing high school?" Garnet asked. It seemed that either the girl's conversation had died down, or Riku had said the right thing to catch their attention.

"I dunno? Anything? Everything?" The silver-haired boy shrugged and took a sip of his coffee, to an audience of questioning glances. "Schooling is not for everyone, and I know schooling is not for me. I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

Kairi's lips broke into a small smile, the redhead looking like the cat that caught the canary. "Now where would you be if you didn't have Sora and me worrying about you?"

After a small pause, Riku replied with, "Point taken."

A quick round of general teasing and taunting of Riku followed, with Riku scowling or throwing back good-natured barbs at Sora or Kairi. No one took anything seriously, this was how things were, or how they had been since the three returned home.

"Hey, question!" Selphie said, shooting her hand into the air animatedly, after everyone had their say in the regular occurring Riku hazing. "How's everyone doing on their Christmas shopping? I still got some stuff to get, and wouldn't mind grouping up this weekend. It's more fun with friends, right!"

"I do all my shopping online. I am done." First replied Riku.

Next, Sora said, "I'm doing alright, still have to get some stuff for the family, but I have ideas, so I'll be good."

"Yeah, I think I'm doing okay, too." Came Kairi. "Although..." A pensive look struck her face. "So, I've been thinking, this is Aqua's first year her right? And her first Christmas here, maybe her first Christmas ever, I don't know what she did before when she was training, if they even did anything, but...but, but..." She was rambling. She rambled quite often when the topic came to the blue-haired Keyblade Master in question. Everyone at the table had a suspicion as to why. "She doesn't really have anyone else left. She's been gone for ten years, no real family left. I want to do something special for her, I want to show people love her, but I've been struggling to come up with something fitting enough."

Riku turned to her with a mischievous smirk forming around the creases of his lips. The kind of smirk an older brother would get when tormenting their younger siblings. "So, you want to do something special for her?" Kairi nodded, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as to where he was going. "You want to do something to show that she loved?" Again, Kairi nodded in response. "You want to show her that _you_ love her."

Kairi began to nod, but then came to a screeching halt, turning deathly still and glaring at her friend. "Riku, I swear, I swear! Don't you start his aga-"

"Because you have a crush on her."

"Riku!" The redhead stage-yelled, clenching her fists. This had been the spot Riku had been prodding and poking for the past few months. 'Kairi had a huge, obvious crush on Aqua'. Even though she obviously did not. She absolutely did not. Sure, Kairi _platonically_ loved Aqua, y'know like a sister. A beautiful, elegant, sophisticated older sister. And she idolized and respected her, who wouldn't? But to say her love extended to romantic or something further? Absurd, just absurd.

"What do I have to say or do to prove to you you're imagining things? Because you are. Pulling nonsense out of thing air! Aqua and I are friends, nothing more, okay?"

"Yeah. Okay." Riku stared dead ahead at her, slowly drinking from his coffee, an unconvinced look plastered on his face. While Riku did believe what he was saying, he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy getting a rise out of his friend.

"Guys," Kairi gestured wildly to Sora and the girls, "could you please talk some sense into him about this?" No help was to be found from the peanut gallery, as Selphie turned away from her, covering her face with her hand, Garnet looked down and coughed, Rydia took a slow, slow sip of her drink, and Sora just smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

Exasperated, Kairi then said, "I mean, how can I even have a crush? I love Sora, I am dating Sora." An intense and fevered look took over her eyes. This was how crazy Riku could drive her sometimes. "Would you like me to prove how much I love him?" She said in a low, dangerous tone.

"No. P.D.A. makes me uncomfortable." Riku returned coolly. The dichotomy in their demeanor was almost stunning. "And – I can't believe I need to say this aloud – people can be attracted to multiple people."

"Yeah, well... I do not have a crush on Aqua, that's final!"

The four others all had a bit of a tired expression on their faces. This was normally how this conversation would go: Riku would needle Kairi, and she in turn would get more and more stubborn and just entrench herself and fire back. So this would continue until someone broke the cycle with a change of conversation.

Right here, right now, that someone was Rydia.

"Well, while I would love to stay for more of this _scintillating_ _conversation_." The green-haired girl said the last two words through clenched teeth. "Garnet and I have to do an oral report as part of our Comp Civ final, so we need to get working on that."

"Yes." Garnet stood up, collected her things and waved goodbye. "Have a nice day, everyone."

The others returned goodbyes with the two, as Riku finished draining his coffee. "Yeah, I gotta martial arts lesson at five, so I need to scram too." Effortlessly, the young man tossed his empty coffee cup over his shoulder, straight into the garbage can sitting about ten yards away. He made it look easy.

With the party now whittled down to three, Sora turned to his girlfriend and ask. "Did you wanna do anything today? I was thinking about hitting the arcade, but if you want to go somewhere else, I'm open to suggestions."

"No! Arcade!" Selphie cried, pumping her fists. Dramatically pointing a finger at Sora, the brunette declared, "You still owe me a _Dance Dance Revolution_ rematch. I won't take that loss laying down!"

Kairi only chuckled to herself. "No, I have some work to do at home. And some thinking to do. You enjoy yourself though." The two rose up, briefly holding hands and sharing a kiss goodbye.

"I definitely will, hun. Talk to you later, tonight?"

"Sure thing."

And with that, the three departed, with the young redhead going home for the day.

 **~X-M-A-S~**

Making her way back to her house, Kairi was deep in thought regarding Aqua.

No. No. Not like that. Nothing like that at all.

Absolutely not.

She was deep in thought regarding Aqua, specifically about her query of what to do with the older woman and her first Christmas on the Islands. Any idea or suggestion that came to mind immediately felt wrong, or not big enough. Most gifts wouldn't be able to express what Kairi wanted to express to her friend. Going to a night market or out to see a play would be fun, but it just wasn't special or unique enough. Needless to say, by the time she arrived on her doorstep, she felt frustrated and that she was only spinning her mental wheels.

"What am I gonna do..." The redhead sighed. With quick, practiced instinct she summoned Oathkeeper, tapped the front door to unlock it with a satisfying _clunk_ , then dismissed the blade. "I'm home." Kairi said with a slight laugh, a joke to herself. Her mother would still be at work for sometime and Aqua had been away on a trip to Radiant Garden, doing research on –

"Welcome home, Kairi." Aqua greeted her, cheerfully. Kairi immediately stopped short in surprise. "How've you been?"

"Oh, I'm well, thanks." The blue-haired woman was sprawled out on a couch in the living room, dressed in a loose tank top and flannel pants, serving as pajamas, with a book cradled in her lap. Her hair was slightly mussed up. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting you to be home so soon. When did you get in?"

"This morning. Around ten. I've been sleeping most of the day."

Kairi set her schoolbag down on a nearby counter top, before circling back around to the living room, sitting in a chair opposite of the wayward Keyblade Master. "So, tell me. How did your research go?"

Aqua sighed and shifted her eyes to the side. She looked defeated and exhausted "Not great." For around the past two weeks, Aqua had traveled to the Radiant Garden, studying the extensive library there, as well as the private collection of the wizard Merlin. "I think I've exhausted this well and need to look elsewhere. Merlin and Leon and everyone have been very gracious and helpful, but I just haven't found anything that can help Ven or Terra." Ever since she had broken out of the Realm of Darkness, Aqua's all-consuming quest had been to find some way to revive her lost friends, Ventus and Terra, traveling to far flung corners of the universe, searching for any lead or scrap of information possible to achieve her goal.

The results so far: Disney Castle's library, a dead end.

Yen Sid's private library, a dead end.

And now, the collected volumes found with Merlin and on the Radiant Garden, a third dead end.

"But I won't lose hope, not yet." The exhaustion on her face receded away, Aqua regaining her nominal facial expression, one of self-assured and calm. A gentle confidence. Kairi always admired that about her. Her inner strength and her ability to reassemble her composure. "You and Sora and Riku have all given me hope. The three of you fought against so much adversity and triumphed, so I can't give up." She then turned to the younger woman with a sly smile on her face. "After all, it would look bad if a veteran like me couldn't match up with her juniors."

Kairi chuckled and smiled. "Let's not get crazy here. I don't think the three of us could ever surpass you." She then paused, before adding. "Do you mind if I go get changed really quick." Aqua quickly greed, which Kairi was thankful for. She had spent enough time in uniform, and wanted to get comfortable.

Returning ten minutes later – the redheaded girl now dressed in black capris and a light sweater – to find Aqua examining the small Christmas tree she and her mother had set up in the corner of the room.

"I see Christmas in vogue here, too." Aqua said, not turning away from the tree, as Kairi approached.

"I take it they celebrate it on the Garden, as well?"

"Yes. Yes they do." Leaning back deeply into the couch, Aqua ran her fingers through her mussy hair, trying to straighten some locks. "Nearly everywhere I went, there were wreaths and tinsel and pine trees and bows and gift boxes. Everything was red and green and gold, bells and carols and more things I don't quite understand." Facing Kairi directly, Aqua said, "Honestly, it was fairly overwhelming."

Kairi responded with a laugh. "That's a part of the experience, yes." A switch quickly flicked in the girl's brain, and she realized this was the opportunity she was looking for. "Hey, I was wondering. Back when you were training, with Terra, and Ven, and Master Eraqus, did you guys ever celebrate Chrismas?"

"No. Well, no and yes. We definitely didn't have all the trappings and traditions you have with the holiday, but every winter, Master Eraqus would suspend training. We'd play games against each other, have a big feast, it would even be one of the few times of the year we would be allowed into the outside world." The older woman sighed, cheek held in her hand, reminiscing about her time from a decade ago. "So, while the framing of the holidays were different, I think they both were about the same thing. Love and family and the spirit of fellowship. I... I miss those days." Sadness and forlorn longing crossed over the countenance of Aqua, looking downward and distant.

 _I've stepped into this now._ While Aqua always did try to buoy her hopes regarding the fate of her friends, and she was relentless in her pursuit and drive, the reality of the situation was that she was faced with a daunting task, and, in doing so, was standing in a world ten years disconnected from where she came from. She was practically alone in the universe until she could succeed in her goal, and there were times when those thoughts would creep in, so Kairi would try and serve as Aqua's minder, and steer her away from such negative and fruitless thoughts.

"Well, this being your first real proper Christmas and all, I'm going to show you how we do it around here." Kairi plopped down in the seat next to Aqua, using the motion to surreptitiously scan the woman's face, which was half-turned towards her in interest, but still clouded by her own inner turmoil. "Obviously it's just me and my mom, so we don't do anything huge at home, but we exchange gifts on the morning of, we have some kind of dinner, it's nice and quiet and lovely..." Shifting her eyes to the side, she saw Aqua's expression hadn't changed yet. Kairi was also becoming cognizant that she was rambling again. "But there's all kind of stuff we can do around town this month. There's plays and musicals and shows in town, there's a big night market with all kinds of crafts and foods and fun little things. And mom and me usually will go down to a soup kitchen or shelter a couple nights and volunteer and help out. I'd love to have you along for any of that." The redhead finished her spiel with a eager and warm smile, but a thought quickly spilled into her mind.

 _Wait...did I just invite her to volunteer work? That seems kind of pushy and forceful... Oh, I hope she doesn't seem that as me forcing her into an obligation._

However, quickly abating her worries, Aqua offered a gracious smile in return. "Thank you. That all sounds very lovely, and I'd love to help out or explore town with you. But I don't want you to spend all this time and attention on me just because it's my first holiday here. I'm not worth all that." Kairi shook her head.

"But you are! You are." The young girl quickly extended her hand out, placing it on Aqua's wrist in gentle affirmation. The brief physical contact caused a strange, heated pulse to flash through her body, though she barely noticed it. Instead, she earnestly declared, "You mean a lot to me, your happiness means a lot to me, so I want to put the extra effort into making you feel what I think you deserve. And I'm certain everyone feels the same way, too. We all want the best for our friends and loved ones, after all, isn't that what Christmas is for?"

"Well, when you put it that way, how can I say no?" The blue-haired woman said with a laugh. Kairi beamed in delight at the shift in her mood. "Show me everything Christmas on the Islands have to offer."

"Great!" Kairi leaped up and pumped her fists in victory. "Because I've been trying to think about what to get you for a gift, and been coming up empty, so if you cou-" Now, Aqua shook her head, holding her hands up in pause.

"Whoa there, don't get too far ahead of yourself. I don't need a gift from your or anyone, really."

The younger girl struck a quizzical look. "But you said-"

"I said show me everything your Christmas has to offer, but don't waste your time and Munny on..." Aqua made a circular motion with one of her fingers, clearly trying to think of something. "On...I don't know? What's a typical gift between friends?"

Kairi shrugged and muttered, "I don't know. Clothes, books, movies, anything. Anything really. Anything you might be interested in."

"I am interested in continuing my training as a Keyblade Master and affirming the legacy of my forebearers. And, of course, finding my friends..." She sighed, standing up and stretching her limbs. Too much time today sleeping and sitting around. Then, the young Master turned to face her friend, with a look in her eyes of rejection. Gentle rejection, but still. "And, also, your happiness is very important to me. So, I don't have any need for any gift or present. Thank you for your consideration, though."

Admittedly, Kairi felt very jubilant inside when Aqua openly admitted her happiness was one of her most important interests, but overall, she was just frustrated. Frustrated she went from a dead end path of trying to think of a gift out of the blue to running into a brick wall of Aqua's gracious denials and her deeply ingrained spartan lifestyle. But, Kairi was nothing if not stubborn, and while she excused herself from Aqua's presence shortly thereafter, retreating to her room to do a variety of things – homework, a bit of online shopping, chatting with her friends and her boyfriends, and some light reading for fun – she never truly gave up on her mission. Breaking away from her work at various junctures to repeatedly needle and pry and probe her friend and housemate for something, anything. Any possible angle or opening she could find to exploit to gain an idea or a lead on what to get Aqua.

Aqua remained unflappable and intransigent. She did not want anything, and wouldn't hear otherwise.

Every strategy and line of attack Kairi could conjure were quickly thwarted by her friendly foe. It was like actually fighting her – Keyblades and magic and all – so great were Aqua's skills at refusal and denial. This pattern continued further and further into the night, even when Kairi's mother returned home and the three of them sat down for dinner and it was her turn to try and test her might against such a rigorous and all powerful polite, conversational knight.

"But it's Christmas! I would feel terrible if Kairi and I had all these things to open and enjoy and you had nothing." Came the final, desperate plea of Mihara Shiratori, former mayor of Salm Township. The older woman, just a shy touch over forty, had taken up her daughter's sword and was having just as much luck.

"I appreciate the thought, Ms. Shiratori, but please, it's fine." That damned gracious smile reappeared, as Aqua countered again. "You've been such a gracious host, I couldn't accept anything else on top of what you've given me."

Kairi's adopted mother opened her mouth, but stopped herself and sighed, running her fingers through her waterfall of raven-black hair (normally kept in a tight bun while on the job, but free flowing during her home time). After leaving her post as mayor, Mihara had moved upwards and onward in her career to become apart of the Saku-Amu Island government, serving as it's current lieutenant governor. Her jade green eyes held a bright spark of intellect and ingenuity, though also showing some world-weariness, a clear sign of a career politician. And even with all of her experience negotiating, campaigning, and crafting policy, it all proved futile versus the Master of Keyblade and Repudiation.

Aqua took no solace or joy in her victory, simply leaving the kitchen table to clean her dishes, where Mihara took upon a look of deep thought, clearly trying to storm up a new idea to deal with her stubborn guest. Kairi took this opportunity to sidle up to her mother and whisper into her ear.

"She reads a lot. Like, a lot, and almost anything. Also, she has a bit of sweet tooth, so maybe some gourmet chocolates or something."

The tips refurbished her mother's resolve on the matter, appearance of frustrated thinking replaced by joyous assurance. Soon after, Kairi excused herself as well and returned to her room, happy to help her mother, but still drawing a blank on what she wanted to do. She had come up with the idea of books and sweets, and while those simple ideas were a triumph in of themselves, Kairi didn't feel they were enough. Something that simple couldn't possible express the deep feelings she held for Aqua.

Feelings of friendship.

Just friends. Nothing more.

Just.

Friends.

When the holiday season started, one of the first things she managed was to think of something nice and special for Sora. A lovely, thoughtful little gift she couldn't wait to see him open on Christmas Day. If it was so easy to shop for her boyfriend, then why was shopping for a good friend was so difficult?

Idly fiddling with her phone, Kairi saw a series of messages she had received while at dinner. Selphie had gotten back to her and gave her the go ahead: Kairi offered that her and the girls go shopping together tomorrow afternoon. That was at least good news. She could spend time with her friends and get something productive done at least.

 _Get stuff for Riku, for mom, maybe Sora's folks and his sisters. Grab a few more little things for Sora, too. Maybe even something for the Gullwings..._ Mentally drawing up a quick list of stuff to look into and stores to check out, a thought dawned upon her. More than a thought, truly, but slightly less than a revelation. _Maybe I've been look at this all the wrong way._ Tomorrow was a Saturday after all.

The redhead rapid-fire typed out a text message on her phone, at speeds only a teenage girl could manage.

 _'Do you think we could stopp by the beachside hobby market on calypso?'_

 **~X-M-A-S~**

"Jeez, girl. You're really going all out today, ain't ya?"

"You're not just happy to out-shop us, but you gotta try and leave us in the dust, too?"

Kairi stopped her advanced and looked over her shoulder at the trailing trio of her Selphie, Garnet, and Rydia, the Keybearer having shot ahead of them with a determined speedwalk as they finally made their way to the beach front Calypso Street. And, not only had Kairi outpaced her friends, she did it with far more weight and bulk to her arms. The lagging three each had two or three shopping bags of moderate size in their hands. Kairi's arms were decorated with them – nine of them – of varying size and weight, so dense and spread out it looked liked mismatched wings were forming around her elbows.

"I suppose being a Keyblade Master had benefits in real life, too." Garnet observed, as they finally closed the gap. "Enhanced stamina and strength probably make a lot of mundane tasks much easier."

Rydia smirked and gently elbowed Kairi in the ribs. Well, the ribs and several of her bags. "Having a butt-tonne of cash from selling your adventured to a multi-media corporation helps, too, eh?"

The quartet began moving again, this time at an even pace so Kairi didn't leave them all behind. "Hey, some of that 'butt-tonne of cash' goes towards the three of you, so don't complain." She stuck her tongue out at Rydia, and the two exchanged a laugh.

"So, what's got a pep in your step that you have to race to the Hobby Market?" Asked Selphie.

"Well, I was doing some more brainstorming last night, about Aqua, and-" Kairi stopped herself when she noticed Selphie roll her eyes, and was _pretty sure_ Rydia and Garnet did as well. "...And, I believe I was thinking about it all wrong. Buying something isn't going to cut it. If I want to tell her how I feel, something more personal and homemade might be the way to go."

Selphie, for her part, nodded along in understanding. "Yeah, I can get that. Aqua's like...a mystical warrior monk." With an impish grin, Selphie began to make broad and animated movements to help better illustrate her point. Or because she was a hyper and animated girl. Either or. "Mysterious and austere, a samurai! Totally detached from our modern senses of materialism and consumption." Getting in on the act, Rydia extended the bit by doing martial arts moves to match Selphie's speech, ending with a slight bow. Egged on by this display, Selphie covered her mouth and began making sounds, doing her best to mimic a _horagai_ trumpet, and a _den-den daiko_.

Both Garnet and Kairi were taken aback by their friend's strangeness, only shaking their heads and chuckling in response. Finally, Kairi returned with, "She more of a knight, than a samurai, to be fair."

"That works too!" Selphie then mimicked a brassy trumpet fanfare, as if announcing a jouster to the lists. It was loud, too, drawing a few odd stares from the various passerbies on the street.

"You're getting awfully good at that." Garnet sputtered out in between embarrassed snickers. The oddball brunette beamed with accomplishment.

"Still, good idea as it is, for a sentimental gift," Rydia began to muse. Through the throng of weekend shoppers crowding the streets, various open-air kiosk and stands overlooking the beach and ocean came into view. "You're not exactly a skilled hand when it comes to arts-and-crafts." Kairi only shrugged.

"I'm aware of that, but I'm also desperate and willing to try something crazy to make her happy." Again, she could swear she saw all three of her friend roll their eyes. Or make sideways glances with each other. Something. "Maybe I can commission something, don't know, but I won't know till I try, right?" She then extended all of her shopping bags to the others. "Hold my bags, please. I wanna run up and take a quick look around." The others offered, struggling to shuffle the mass of gifts amongst them so they all had an equal load, and, Kairi now freed of her handheld burden, charged forward down the street towards the Market.

Once she was out of earshot, Rydia sighed and shook her head in disbelief. "Honestly! How can someone so empathetic to others be so blind to how she feels?"

"It's just like when she was crushing on Sora," said Garnet. "She wouldn't hear a word against it, even though it was obvious to everyone who knew the two."

Selphie scrunched her face in confusion "I dunno why she's so resistant. Just tell her. Don't hold it in, or you'll end up emotion-vomitting all over them at the worse moment." Rydia smirked and chuckled.

"Y'know what? From what that Rikku girl said, 'emotion vomit' is a good way to describe how she confessed to Sora." The green-haired girl and Selphie burst out in laughter, though Garnet only sighed.

"Maybe this will finally get it out her system and she'll realize it."

"We can only hope."

Down at the end of the street, Kairi found herself in a linear open air market, overlooking the surf and sand, stretching up and down the street a fair distance. The Calypso Hobby Market was always a fun place to stop by to window shop and marvel at all the hand-crafted trinkets the people of Salm could construct. Pottery and glasses, rings and necklaces, clothes of all type that were sewn or knitted by hand, there was plenty of cute little bric-a-brac and ornaments to purchase, as well as suppliers of all sorts of materials, so that any layman could make their own. But Kairi didn't need any of that, yet ( _Maybe some materials,_ she conceded mentally). Rydia was correct, Kairi didn't possess the talent to make things of her own. In fact, outside of above-average – but still not great – drawing skills, her artistic talent leaned more towards the physical, like singing or dancing. Buying a pre-fabricated thing wouldn't cut the mustard, and she couldn't count on herself to just buy materials and turn it into a perfect summation of her love – her platonic, sororital, totally normal love – of Aqua.

And then, she saw it.

The small table manned by a tiny grizzled and bearded man, covered in star-shaped charms, with a small wooden placard that read 'Commissions Accepted and Welcomed'.

 _Oh, this perfect._

 **~X-M-A-S~**

Christmas Day had finally come, after the many long and frantic weeks of December wound down to their end. A gentle morning sun rose across the island of Saku-Ama, ushering in a quiet, beauteous peace fitting only for the holiday of fellowship and kindness and joy. With the rising light of day and the coming celebration, the three women of the Shiratori household all arose to conduct their traditional Christmas ritual – well, traditional for two of three, though Kairi was eager to induct Aqua into their ways.

Every Christmas morning since her first one on the island, Kairi and her mother would begin the day with a light breakfast, though it included a platter of homemade pastries Mihara only ever made a few times a year, but _always_ made them for her friends and family during the holidays. Mihara may not be the best home cook or baker around (she couldn't hold a candle to Sayaka, Sora's mom – though few good), but Kairi absolutely adored the tarts and turnovers she made. Warm, flaky crust full of hand-made preserves and jams the politician made throughout the year. Sweet and warm and just a bit of tang and sour – they tasted like home.

After breakfast, came presents, of which Kairi always got the lion's share. She wasn't greedy or demanding, Mihara just wanted to make her adopted daughter happy, and typically Christmas was only just the two of them. Once or twice Mihara had herself a beau this time of year, and he would join them in the afternoon with presents for him, but it was normally a mother-daughter affair.

Now, where Kairi took home the majority of gifts, she made sure her mother did well for herself this year. Mihara happily accepted a new leather jacket, a set of bathcare products, some mystery novels Kairi had found on Radiant Garden that her mother certainly hadn't read before, and an aromatic diffuser with a set of scented oils, designed to soothe and relax. And, of course, Mihara had a few parcels for Aqua hidden under the tree, and despite the house guest's consternation, she begrudgingly accepted a box of gourmet chocolates from one of the finest chocolatiers in the archipelago, as well as a new e-reader tablet, so that the blue-haired woman could read to her heart's content.

"So, you're saying this device can hold hundreds of books at once?" Aqua asked, clearly mystified by her new device. Modern technology still eluded her to a certain degree, and that wasn't entirely due to her missing ten years in the Realm of Light. She...just wasn't a tech person.

Mihara had a chuckle at the expense of her befuddlement. "Hundreds and hundreds." Aqua's amazement only deepened. "Well, that's everything this year. Let's clean up. Kairi, you probably want to go and meet the girls soon, we have to get out to Sayaka and Yakumo's place by around three." Mihara and Aqua soon began to gather up various boxes and discarded scraps of wrapping paper, though Kairi did not participate, instead moving towards tree.

"Actually, mom, I have one more thing to give out..." The redhead dropped down onto her belly and began to crawl underneath the deep recesses of their Christmas tree. "Just a moment..." She had placed this gift behind the tree in secret, shoving it to the very very far back. "Okay, I got it!" Squirming back out into the open, Kairi popped up to her feet, turning to face Aqua and cheerily greeting, "For you! Merry Christmas!"

The older woman furrowed her brow, a mixture of disappointment and frustration? Maybe. Maybe disappointment. "Kairi...I told you, I didn't need anything from you." The girl held a small circular tin wrapped in a bright red ribbon. "It's bad enough that your mother snuck in some gifts, I don't need this. I-"

"I know, I know, I've heard it all." Not to be deterred, Kairi forced the tin into her friend's hands. "Just...open it, give it a chance. I'm sure once you see, you'll change your mind."

Giving her one last look, Aqua relented, taking the parcel and sitting down, carefully undoing the ribbon and opening the tin to reveal a wad of colourful tissue paper. Slowly, Aqua began to part the sea of ornamentation.

"You told me once that you had heard about the lucky charm legend from the Islands. That you made one each for you, and Terra, and Ventus... On your last night together."

Finally seeing what lay at the bottom of the tin, Aqua gasped in start, emotions and tears immediately welling up in her eyes.

Two items were set in the box, both intricately designed stars. She had gone to the man at the Hobby Market with a rough idea of the designs. He agreed to construct and paint them if she gathered the materials. The base were sea shells, as per tradition, with bits of metal bound around them to serve as a frame. Glued overtop the shells were chunks of coloured glass and tile, touched up with a final flair of some intricate carvings and a touch of paint.

"I don't know if the two of us share the same bond you had with them, but I couldn't think of anything else to tell you how much we here care about you, and how much you mean to all of us. To me."

The first star was four-pointed, almost looking like an even armed cross, each point serving as a uniquely designed segment. One was a brassy gold, it's surface engraved with the images of elegant skeleton keys. Next to it, was a dusky orange piece, jagged hard lines carved into it making them resemble a rocky cliff face. The third portion was a light green, with more elegant markings laid into the surface, almost resembling the gentle flow of the wind through a cloudy sky. And the final piece, a rich sea blue, with similar smooth and graceful lines etched into it, causing it to look like the ebb and flow of the ocean's tide.

The second star at the bottom of the box was far larger, but the designs were a little more simplistic in comparison. Almost resembling a blooming flower through it's myriad of points. Again each segment of the charm was it's own colour, those each point combined two or more colours in place of the engraved markings. Pink with purple, red and gold, navy and black, black and silver, white and sky blue, blue and gold, violet and green, one which was a tricolour of periwinkle and orange and silver, and the last piece was a mimic of the sea blue segment on the first charm.

Finally, at the bottom of the box was small note, decorated with the signatures of Kairi, Sora, Riku, the Gullwings, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and various members of the Radiant Garden. Aqua read the note through bleary eyes, cradling the charms in each of her hands.

 _Though You're On Your Quest_

 _To Find Your Lost Companions_

 _And We Will Stand With You Every Step Of The Way_

 _Never Forget_

 _You're Apart Of Our Story_

 _And Our Family_

 _And We're Lucky To Have You_

"So? What do you thin-" Kairi was cut off, as Aqua practically fell into her arms, the redhead having to fall to one knee to brace herself, as she was trapped in a tight and warm embrace, burying her face into the smaller girl's shoulder.

"I love it... Thank you, so much..." Aqua whispered softly, as she herself sunk to her knees. In turn, Kairi wrapped her arms around her emotional and sobbing friend, a slight smile crossing her lips.

The two held each other for a short while, but for Kairi, it felt like a frozen moment in time. None of her other plans or obligations seemed to matter right now, all she wanted to do was enjoy the sweet and loving embrace of her dear friend, the heat radiating from her body, the rhythm of her heart, the soft sound of her breathing, occasionally broken up by a minute sob or sniffle. Kairi felt...warm. Safe. Happy. Almost as if her body was floating gently upwards on a warm updraft, bathed in bright, bountiful sunlight.

It was... oddly similar to how she felt whenever she and Sora cuddled and held one another.

The girl's eyes snapped open in dreadful realization.

 _Oh no..._


	2. Riku

**-Riku-**

"Just let me go through all this stuff in the apartment, then we'll get going." Riku flashed the handful of letters he was currently holding. He was certain there wasn't anything pertinent, but still. Never hurt to check.

Sora followed his friend through the halls of the apartment complex, casually saying, "Yeah, no worries, we got plenty of time."

On a Saturday in the middle of December, Sora was in the middle of finishing his Christmas shopping – only needed a few more odds-and-ends – and, thinking it would be more enjoyable to do it with a friend, asked the older, grumpier boy to accompany him.

"You sure you don't need to get anything?" Sora asked, the two making the final, familiar stretch to Riku's apartment – Riku and his father's apartment technically, but it was his alone in all other sense.

"Told you, I did all my shopping online. Online, or off-world. I'm set." Largely the only reason Riku was tagging along was because he had nothing better to do with his day. Figured this might kill a few hours until something arose in the evening. "Just waiting for everything to arrive. In fact, I got all of your sisters' stuff yesterday."

"Oh? What did you get them?"

"Well, since your folks got Ame a new laptop for school, I ordered a bunch of accessories to go with it – you know: wireless speakers, an external harddrive, a cooling board. Nothing super exciting, but should make her happy. As for Fuka..." Coming to the door of apartment 3-T, his apartment, Riku slouched down and sighed loudly. "I can't believe I did this, but I got her a bunch of those _My Little Chocobo_ vinyl figurines." The stupid, insipid show. Riku bloody hated it. But, of course, both Sora and his little sister Fuka were big fans – they still watched it together whenever it was on Saturday mornings. For Sora, it helped it was apart of the same programming block as his favourite super hero shows – _Exceed Force_ and _Arma Kaiser_.

"Really? What ones did you get her?" Sora asked, part out of curiosity for his sister, part out of curiosity for himself, and mostly because he wanted to see to depths to which Riku sunk to make Fuka happy.

The silver-haired teen punched his apartment door, Way to Dawn out in his hand. "See for yourself, I left all of them on the kitchen counter after they arrived." He probably punched it a little too hard, but the lock _thunked_ open all the same.

Indeed, strewn across the small kitchen counter and the island bar were a series of brightly coloured toy boxes, all containing small, plastic figurines, in the likeness of cartoony chocobos. Each of the plastic birds were coloured in an eye-searingly array of pastels, some equipped with stylized armour and dress pieces. Upon seeing them, Sora's eyes lit up in sheer, unconstrained joy.

"Oh, dude! These are awesome, you went above and beyond!" The brunet immediately rushed over to the boxes, while his friend only hung his head and muttered some things under his breath. "You must know her or the show really well, 'cause these are some of Fuka's faves!"

"No, I don't!" Riku protested sharply. "I know nothing about that stupid show."

Sora continued without pause or breath. "You got Stardust Violet with her faithful assistant Mog – classic!" Riku could practically hear the Trademark symbols as Sora uttered character names and product buzzwords. "Ice Brand with his Corsair Job? Super rare, super cool. Best moment in Season Two. Oh! Dragonsong in her Crystal Dragoon variant." Racing rapidly over the boxes, Sora came across the largest box of the group, hopping up and down in fanboy fanatacisim. "Princess Sunwing Paladin Job _and_ Princess Night Blaze Dark Knight Job?" He picked up the box, covetously rubbing his hand over the plastic encased chocobo royalty. " _I_ want this."

During this display, Riku stood completely still, staring off into space, pupils reduced to pin pricks, with a severe grimace plastered on his face. It was as if his best friend was acting like such a colossal dork that his brain just couldn't process what he was hearing or seeing. But what was really causing his being to shutdown was that he had in fact done his research before buying stuff for Fuka, and he _did know_ what Sora was talking about, and he _hated_ that he knew what Sora was babbling about.

Finally, snorting through flared nostrils, Riku managed to growl out, "Just...just give me a minute and we'll go..." The older teen quickly sifted through the mail in his hand. It was mostly unimportant – adds and flyers and bills and other miscellaneous junk – but he eventually came across two innocuous looking envelopes that caused him to scowl darkly. Two white envelopes, one addressed _"Riku"_ \- his dad's handwriting – and the other with _"Merry Christmas"_ written across it in his mom's handwriting.

Quickly, as if he'd done this year after year, Riku tore open the letters, placed the cheques he knew were inside on the countertop next to all the _MLC_ figurines, then dumped the remains – envelopes, letters, _et al_ – on the floor without a second thought.

"'Kay, let's go."

Riku quickly left the apartment, door open, and Sora trailing behind. The young Keybearer stood paralyzed for a second with indecision, eyes on the discarded letters. While he knew better than most to pick at the wound that was Riku and his family life, it still saddened him to see someone act so callous and cold towards their family, especially at Christmas.

"Ah, jeez..." After another moment of thinking, scratching the back of his head furiously, he decided to leave well enough alone and chase after his friend.

As Sora left the apartment, he shut the door behind. No sooner as he did that, Riku blindly tossed Way to Dawn behind him; tumbling end over end with supreme precision, the Keyblade sailed passed Sora, the butt of the blade making contact with the door, locking it up.

Again, Riku made it look easy.

"So, hey, my mom was wondering," began Sora, still running a bit behind. The two only finally caught up when they reached the elevator at the end of the hall, "she was wondering if you were gonna spend winter break over at our place again. Y'know, like old times."

Hitting a few buttons to begin their descent, Riku shrugged noncommittally. "Yeah. I guess. I mean, if she wants me there." Ever since Riku's parents had divorced, Riku spent a lot of his time in the care of the Kido family. Rarely would a week pass without him having dinner their at least once.

"Good." Sora nodded with a big smile on his face. "She's really looking forward to having you over. Having everyone under the same roof. She even invited Kairi and her mom and Aqua for dinner. First time we'll all be in one place for Christmas in a long while."

"We've only been gone a year-and-a-half. No need to go crazy." Riku said coolly, though it was more just to cover his own feelings. When it came to holidays and school breaks, he would always spend a few days of spring and summer break with Sora and his family, but he had always spent all two weeks of winter break with the Kido family. Christmas and New Years, the whole thing. He too, was looking forward to spending time with them once more.

Of course, he would never admit that aloud.

For a few moments, the two friends remained silent, the only sound in their area being the dull drone of the elevator muzak, until Riku awkwardly broke the silence. "So, are you doing anything for your folks?" Sora waved him off dismissively, as the elevator doors opened.

"Nah, you know they don't want us kids to raise a fuss. Just a gift or two, be there, be happy. Same old, same old. So, me and Fuka are splitting a foot bath for my mom. Oh! And last time I was on the Garden, I gave Leon some munny and asked him to buy me some beer for dad. Beer from another world, he'll get a real kick out of that." Sora beamed in delight, where Riku had to nod along in admittance. That did sound like something Yakumo would enjoy. "Why did you ask? Did you have something in mind?" Sora creeped up next to his friend, almost standing shoulder-to-shoulder, in attempt to bug him. "Something big...?"

"Well, I was just..." Riku paused, rubbing the back of his neck. _I was just thinking how much your mom did to help me out, and wanted to repay the favour_. Of course, he wouldn't say it. Couldn't say it. Something like that would render him too open and vulnerable. Even if the thoughts kept incubating in the back of his brain, raw sentiment wasn't his style. "I was just spitballing. Not important." The younger brunet seemed satisfied with that answer. "Well, tell me, where are we going first?"

 **~X-M-A-S~**

Years and years ago, before the Keyblade changed everything, before a long series of trying and epic adventures, Sora and Riku were just two normal kids, no different than anyone else in Salm or on Saka-Ama. So, on a chilly night in December, one Sayaka Kido arrived home after a long day at work, to her normal house, her normal life, and her normal son and his normal best friend.

Sayaka was a short and spirtely woman who shared more than a few physical similarities with her son. Their eyes were the same shade of brilliant cerulean, and their hair the same chocolate brown, though Sayaka's hair was straight and thicker, held back in a tight, downward ponytail. The woman entered her home with a bounce in her step, emanating an almost perceptible aura of happiness. Even with a stressful line of work as a restaurateur and chef, while also being a mother of three, Sayaka couldn't help but be happy this time of year. She loved Christmas, she always loved Christmas, and right now, it felt like nothing could diminish her holiday spirit.

Making her way into the kitchen, humming some anomalous Christmas carol, the bubbly brunette chef found her son, Sora, and his best friend, Riku (ages eight and nine, respectively), sat down at the kitchen table playing some sort of board game. Sora immediately lit up when he saw his mom entered, but Riku barely acknowledged her presence, seemingly focused on the game. Though, from a glance, Sayaka couldn't tell if his expression was one of focus, or something a little more sullen.

"Hi mom!" Sora welcomed cheerfully, a big, youthful grin on his face. Riku softly said a greeting under his breath.

"Hello boys. How're you?" She went around to the kitchen counter, dropping of her purse. "How was school today?" That was apparently all the opening Sora needed to launch into a tale about the epic game of dodgeball he had in P.E. class today. Sayaka nodded and followed along her son's excited retelling, as she settled down from the work day and went about her routine at home, eventually taking out some vegetables to prep for the dinner her husband had started preparing.

Quickly, she found herself dicing some vegetables while making idle conversation with her son. Sayaka also noticed Riku seemed oddly quiet – probably absorbed in his game – and tried to course correct that and engage him. "So, Riku, are you excited for Christmas?"

"No," the boy muttered dourly, drawing surprised and concerned looks from the two Kidos. "Christmas is stupid."

Well, that wasn't what she was hoping for. Or expecting. No one should hate Christmas, let alone a nine-year-old boy. "Now why would you say something like that?"

"Because it's true." Judging from the young man's tone, he wasn't trying to be rude or malicious, he was just expressing what he felt. "Everyone goes on about love and family and junk, but that's not how it is. It's dumb and stupid and everywhere." Sayaka peered her head over, looking her son in the eye, and seeing the look of confusion and concern that undoubtedly was reflected in her visage, as well. Sighing, Riku hung his head downward and said, "I think I'm gonna go home."

"Well, would you like a ride?"

The moody, silver-haired boy as quickly packing his things no. "No. I rode my bike to school today, so it's fine. Thank you." Riku quickly waved goodbye to Sora and then marched himself out the door without another word.

"Well, that was..." Sayaka started, unsure of what exactly she wanted to say. Putting down her knife, she looked over to her son. "Is everything okay? Did something happen at a school?" Sora just shook his head.

"No, nothing there. I think he's still upset that his parents de-de...divorced."

 _Right, right._ That would be the obvious answer. This past year had been a rough and tumultuous one for Riku and the entire Akiyama family. While Sayaka was generally aware the marriage between Riku's parents, Ryuto and Kanon, had never been smooth or wholly pleasant, things took a real turn for the worse when it got out that Ryuto was having an affair with a woman at his workplace. What followed was a long, drawn-out, nasty and venomous divorce proceeding, two airing out one another's dirty laundry for the entire community to bear witness, culminating in Kanon winning custody of their younger daughter, Izuka, and moving to another island out east. Ryuto seemed to compensate by burying himself in his work, seemingly absent from Salm for the majority of the past three months.

A cloud of worried energy hovered over Sayaka for the remained of the night, though she tried her best to conceal her feelings from her family and not let her attitude get everyone else down. Still, her mind was largely focused on the plight of young Riku, both the general and the specific. Was it just his family being fractured and broken up that was affecting him? Sure, she could recall him being a bit more moody than usual since his parent's relationship imploded, but nothing this bad – not this sullen and distant and quiet. Riku was never as energetic or outwardly happy as Sora was, but he was also never like this.

And through all this pondering and thinking and dreading, one thought kept circling around in her head. One thought, all based on the fact that she hadn't seen Ryuto in months, and he was still working abroad.

 _Is Ryuto seriously working through the holidays?_

The notion seemed absurd to her, but she had to remind herself that not everyone cared for Christmas as much as she did, not every family was as closed knit as hers. Her blessings were not the norm. It was entirely possible that Riku was spending the holidays alone this year.

And that, that was something Sayaka Kido couldn't stand.

Later in the evening, after dinner and everything else was finished, after all the kids were settled in for bed, just before Sayaka and her husband, Yakumo, were to call it a night as well, she had one last task to accomplish. With Yakumo reading in bed, the concerned woman excused herself into their adjoining bathroom, phone in hand.

At the very least, before he had left, Ryuto had given the Kido family his contact information, just in case anything came up. Quickly dialing in his cell-phone number, Sayaka waited impatiently for the other man to answer. Praying that that he would answer.

The wait was almost interminable.

 _"Hello? Ryuto Akiyama speaking."_

The answer came so sudden, it caught Sayaka by surprise. "Oh, uh... hello, Ryuto, this is Sayaka Kido. I'm sorry to bother you so late."

 _"Not at all. I was just in the middle of taking a break from a meeting. Well, how have you been? It's been- Wait...is something wrong? Did something happen with Riku?"_

"No, no, no... Well...it's complicated. It's nothing major at the very least."

 _"Well, what is it then?"_

Sayaka went so speak, but caught herself before she said a word. This might be harder than you thought. Concerned as she was, she didn't want to bother or nag Ryuto, or come across as meddling and overbearing. _I need to choose my words carefully._ "Well, Sora had Riku over earlier today, and we got to talking... He made some comments, and I couldn't help but wonder...were you not planning on coming home for Christmas?"

Loud, but indistinct voices sounded from Ryuto's side of the line. _"I'm speaking with someone right now. I won't be long, just be patient."_ She heard him call distantly to whoever was speaking. _"Sorry about that...um, yes. As a matter of fact, something has come up, and I'm going to have work through to the end of December."_

It was exactly as Sayaka had thought. Sometimes, her intuition was a curse. "Is that so? You can't get out of this?"

 _"Well, that's the thing. I sort of volunteered for this. The affair did a lot to hurt my standing within the company. It, well... I couldn't stand to lose my job in addition too... so I agreed to keep working through the holidays. Business and capitalism doesn't stop just because of Christmas, right?"_

The answer was disappointing, if not expected. Sayaka wasn't angry, or, rather, wasn't quite angry enough. To yell at Ryuto, at least. She really didn't have any right to tell him how to raise his son, but all the same... "I understand, but, Riku..."

More indistinct chatter came over the line. Ryuto seemed to ignore it. _"I already spoke to him about it. We had a long chat at the beginning of the week, and he completely understands. He even said it was okay. He's fine, he's a tough kid, missing one Christmas won't hurt."_

Of course Riku would say he was okay with this, that child was so in control of his emotions, it bordered on repression. She could remember, during divorce proceedings, never seeing Riku cry or look worried, whenever something distressing came up, he would just scowl or grimace or furrow his brow. "It's not just missing Christmas that worries me. He's all alone right now, and I think he could really just use some compani-"

 _"In a moment! A moment! Just let me finish this up!"_ Ryuto was yelling at someone on his end of the line. _"I appreciate your concern, Sayaka, but, trust me, I've thought of everything. I had one our neighbours buy groceries, I've sent him some spending munny, I'll mail him some gifts..._ More chatter, this time, coming very pointed, loud, and hurried. _"I'll be back just after New Year's, we'll do something then, and I'll do something big for his birthday in February. But, listen... I need to go right now. Work never stops, y'know? Thanks for calling, say 'hi' to everyone for me and we'll talk some soon. Thank you-"_

"Ryuto, I really think-" Sayaka called out in vain, maybe a bit too loud. It hardly mattered, though. She overheard the other man say "Goodbye", and the line soon went dead. Frustrated and despondent, her lips drawn into a hard line, the phone's dial tone blaring in her ear, Sayaka march back to her bed, flopping on top of the covers in defeat.

"Didn't go that well, did it Saya?" Yakumo asked, eyes shifting from beyond the frames of his glasses to check in on his wife. "I heard you yelling at the end there." Slightly older than than his wife, Yakumo Kido stood just a touch taller than the average man his age, with a lithe, arrow-straight frame. His head was topped with sandy blond hair that shot out in a variety of angles and direction in soft, feather-like tufts, while his mouth – lips currently formed in a gentle and encouraging smile – was encircled in a neatly manicured and maintained goatee and moustache.

Sayaka burrowed her head into his husband's chests, snaking an arm under his back and around his waist. "Oh, Yakkun... I'm just worried about Riku. He's a good kid, deep down, I know it, this is just so unfair to him."

"I know, I know," Yakumo tried relaxing her, a soft voice, and even softer touches across her back and shoulders. "You're far too nice for you own good, Saya. That's something I've always loved about you." Saya turned her head upward's, her brilliant blue eyes meeting with his emerald green ones.

"Well, now that you mention being 'too nice'... I had an idea. Something I thought before I even spoke with Ryuto." Yakumo gave the brunette woman a quizzical look, to urge her on. "Well...what if we have Riku over for Christmas? I know it's really last minute, and it might be too too much to have four kid's to take care of, but... He just doesn't have anyone else right now, I feel like... This moment could make all the difference with in his life. Riku is so smart, so talented, I would hate to see all that wasted because of things he can't control. What he really needs right now, even if he would never admit it, is for someone to show they love him."

Yakumo shut his book, putting it on the nightstand to his left, a calm and contemplative look upon his face. "Well," he began, speaking in deliberately slow manner, "it is a little last minute, we're almost two week out already. And, even if we don't get gifts equivalent to what we've gotten the others, the munny for him would be a little tight..." Sayaka looked up at Yakumo, expectantly. He always liked to slowly string her along and tease her, whenever in the middle of expression an important thought. "But... I agree with you. I think this is an important moment in his life, and he needs somebody there for him. I think inviting him for Christmas would be the least we can do."

A brilliant smile formed on Sayaka's face, her eyes shining with joy. "Oh, thank you Yakkun!" Sayaka crawled up to matching height with her husband, taking him by the shoulders, and pulling him into a big, grateful kiss. "I cannot wait to tell him. I'll do it the first chance I get!"

'The first chance" wouldn't be for well over another week. Between work and getting ready for the holidays, Sayaka barely had time for anything else, not helped by that Riku wasn't around much during that week. However, that Friday, one week until the schools let out for winter break, Riku spent the night for dinner. And, while the question bubbled at her lips for the entirety of the night, the last thing the brunette wanted to do was blurt something so personal out in front of everyone. Particularly Sora and Ame. She knew Riku didn't want to appear emotionally vulnerable in front of his friends or older kids. So she waited, and waited, well until after dinner, when they all finished up and Sayaka agreed to drive Riku home.

There was a light rain that night, as Sayaka drove down through the quiet streets of Salm. The Kido residence was apart of a sprawling suburb development, located near the beach at the island's edge, whereas the apartment complex Riku and his father lived in was well in the heart of downtown.

"Well, only a week left of school for the year." Sayaka said cheerfully, trying to keep things casual. The radio was kept down low, so as to not interrupt or distract the two. "I know you think that 'Christmas is lame' or whatever, but you have to still be excited, right?"

Riku shifted in his seat, a noncommittal look on his face. "Yeah, I suppose. Being out of class will be nice."

"Mhm, mhm." Sayaka nodded along. She took a left turn at the coming intersection. The complex was just at the end of this street. "And, you know, you can come over anytime you want during the break." The boy shook his head glumly.

"I don't want to bother anyone." That might be the heart of the matter. Riku didn't want to be seen as a burden to others. Sayaka would have to choose her words carefully here.

"Oh, it wouldn't be a bother. We love having you over. Not just Sora and me, but everyone." She smiled congenially, but Riku didn't respond. The silver-haired boy was gazing out the window, watching the raindrops spatter against the windshield. "In fact, Mr. Kido and I were talking the other night, and we got to thinking, how would you like to spend Christmas with us?"

That got his attention, Riku turned over, a look of confusion and wonder stricken in his aquamarine eyes. "Wha...?"

"Yup, yup." Pulling into the parking lot of the apartment building, a well-practiced skill after so many years, Sayaka quickly picked a stall and put the vehicle in park. "We would absolutely love to have you over. For Christmas, for New Year's, for as much of the break as you could manage." Riku began to open his mouth, but Sayaka quickly cut him off. "And you wouldn't be a bother or trouble or anything like that. We've planned everything out. It will be okay."

For a dreadfully long moment, Riku only stared at his best friend's mom. A mix of suspicion, anticipation, hope, and a little bit of fear. The boy took a deep, sharp breath, as if trying to calm himself, or to suppress a well of emotion. Whatever it was the stoic boy felt, deep down inside.

Finally, after long last, in a quiet voice, Riku asked, "Would it be okay...if I spent the whole two weeks with you?" Sayaka responded with a warm smile. A mother's smile, made reassure her doubting children.

"Absolutely. I'll tell you what, next Friday I'll come over, help you pack a bag, and drive you straight home. How does that sound?"

"Really good... Thank you, Mrs. Kido." Sayaka watched with intent as Riku's vision was cast down, his entire body clenching tightly together, as if he couldn't quite decide what to do with it next. During the moment, Sayaka wanted nothing more than to hug the hurting boy, but she decided against it. He was like a cagey animal at times, better not to spook him. At the same time, Sayaka mused to herself, maybe Riku was deciding whether to hug her or not.

Regardless, Riku's body finally uncoiled, as he quickly scrabbled for the door handle to escape outside. "I'll be leaving now. Thank you again, thank you very much..."

The boy departed into the rainy night with desperate haste, leaving Sayaka, a warm sensation spreading through her heart. Maybe she was just a little too nice, but that difference paid off tonight.

"You're very welcome, Riku."

 **~X-M-A-S~**

Riku had been thinking about those Christmas's a lot lately.

Every year since then, with the lone exception of the one year he and Sora had departed into the greater universe around them, he had spent every single day of winter break with the Kido family. Even in years his dad didn't have to work, or wasn't working, Riku would spend his time with Sora and Sayaka and everyone else. It was his tradition, something he cherished. He never missed it. Not the year Ame was let up with a broken leg, spending the whole of Christmas Day on a couch, pile of pillows propping up her bum limb. Not the year Riku himself caught the flu, sick as a dog, to the point that he slept for sixty-one hours total between the twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth.

Every year, without fail.

Riku would never admit it, even to his closest of confidants, but he looked forward to these two weeks for most of the year. They made him feel... whole? Complete? He could never quite verbalize or construe his feeling properly regarding this, but it was a feeling he wasn't accustomed to feeling. It was contentment and satisfaction, but not equivalent to the satisfaction he received when achieving a goal, defeating a strong enemy, or even when he finally returned home with Sora and Kairi, after a long year-and-a-half away from Salm.

In the end, it was irrelevant what the feeling was. That's what he would tell himself in those moments of introspection. The important thing was that he felt it, year after year, without fail. Whenever he reminisced about those wintery nights in the homey seaside rancher, he felt it then, too. It was neither fleeting or transient. That happiness, that fulfillment, that peace... it was real, and it belonged to him.

On Christmas Eve night, Riku ascended the stairs leading to the basement of the Kido's family home. As per long tradition, whenever he spent the night, Riku would use the pullout couch in the basement suite, Sora's room being the one adjacent to the suite. He had hurried down and back up to retrieve something important, a manila folder carried in his right hand.

Riku quickly made a sharp turn at the end of the stairs, crossing the hall into the kitchen, the living room opening up on his left. Everyone save Sayaka was gathered there, the whole room illuminated by with a faint glow radiating from the fully decorated and well-lit Christmas tree. After dinner on Christmas Eve, everyone would gather in the living room to watch whatever old Christmas specials were on TV that night, accompanied by drinks and desserts. Then the kids would each get to open one small gift, then it was off to bed, waiting for the arrival of "Santa Claus" (Riku still didn't believe he was real, regardless of whatever Sora would say).

This was a tradition, too, though not one Riku quite relished. Still, everyone enjoyed it enough to keep doing it, even with both Sora and Ame beginning to grow out of that "wonderment of youth" phase.

Riku entered the kitchen, finding Sayaka preparing a small platter, laddened with diminutive chocolates and cookies, as well as a tray with five mugs and a glass – a tumbler of scotch, two coffees, one tea, and two hot chocolates – same as always. The brunette seemed to sense his presence.

"I'm just about done, no need to get antsy. Sit down and enjoy-" she turned around and, upon seeing it was Riku, took on a surprised expression. "Oh, Riku. I didn't know who to expect, but I still didn't think it would be you."

Riku only raised an eyebrow. "Thanks? I guess?"

"Anyways, go back and sit down. I'll be out shortly."

"Actually, I had something I wanted to talk about. With you." During his time trapped in the Realm of Darkness, his time in Castle Oblivion, his time with DiZ, his time assuming the form of Xehanort... Riku had spent more than a modicum of his time on self-reflection. It had proven habit forming, as he often dwelled upon his past, his actions, and those that were around him and involved themselves with his life, during the quiet and still periods of his day.

Lately, he had spent numerous hours thinking about all those years ago, when Sayaka first invited him over for Christmas. For winter break. As much as her could and as long as he could manage. Accepting the generosity of others was hard, it was awkward, but whenever he could manage to overcome his idiosyncrasies to accept help, Riku was very grateful, and would do his best to repay. Not just repay, but to pay back as many times as he could.

With his best friend's mother looking at him curiously, Riku extended the folder forward. "I got you and Yakumo something this year. I kinda felt awkward imagining you opening it front of everyone tomorrow, so you can open it now... I don't want you to wait until morning."

"Riku, you didn't have to do that." Sayaka tsked, holding her hands on her hips, head cocked slightly to the side. "I feel bad when you get me anything, you're our guest, you're under no obligation to give us gifts."

"And you were under no obligation to do all this. Invite me over year after year. Feed me. Give me gifts. Even beyond the holidays. How many days do you think I spend here each year? After all this time? You didn't have to do that either, but you did..." Riku began to approach Sayaka during his speech. For the recent period of their lives, Riku had been growing taller and taller than the woman, but now, after his most recent spurt, he absolutely towered over her. "Why?"

"Because..." Sayaka reach up, putting a hand on the young man's shoulder, gently and reassuringly rubbing it. "Because I thought you had been given an unfair hand. You never said anything, but I could tell how much your parent's divorce hurt you, how much you missed your sister, how lonely you were with your dad working all the time. Back then, you needed someone to extend you a helping hand, and I was happy that me, and Yakumo, and Sora, and the girls could be that hand." The slightest hint of tears had began to form in her eyes, but the perky brunette beamed all the same. "I don't care what anyone says, or what _you_ say, you're a good kid, Riku, and deserved this."

Riku swallowed back a knot of emotion. _Damn it, she always knows how to make me feel uncomfortable in my own skin._ Taking her hand off his shoulder, "And you," Riku passed the folder to her, "deserve this. Because, like your son, you're too bloody nice for your own good." A forceful and self-satisfied smile appeared. "Merry Christmas, Sayaka."

Sighing, the woman relented and peeled open the envelope, unveiling it's contents: a sheet of paper that looked like a print out copy of online hotel reservations, and a small brochure for a town called... Celvista? She had never heard of a town like that.

Sensing her confusion, Riku jumped it. "It's a little resort town on the Radiant Garden." A little investigative work revealed not the entirety of the Garden's kingdom was ravaged. The capitol city and castle took the brunt of it, as did the surrounding lands, but there were pockets that were largely untouched by the Heartless. Celvista was one of those places. "You'll love it. I got you eight days at this quaint place overlooking the water. There's wineries and breweries in the area, a big market, boat tours, historical sites, a famous playhouse...and and and don't worry about how much I spent, I got a deal," (that was a lie), "and there's no transportation cost, because we'll taxi you back and forth with the Gummi Ship." He sighed, running his hand through his hair, slightly flustered. "I just...wanted to do something special this year, because it's my first year back... and you keep putting up with me..."

Sayaka stood up on the tippiest of her tippy-toes, throwing her arms around Riku in a tight embrace.

"Oh, Riku..." He was a good kid. Through the dark moods, the smart mouth, the penchant for force and violence to solve his problems... At the core of everything, Riku Akiyama possessed a noble heart, tempered by bad experience and the grace of his loved ones. That, Sayaka was certain. "I love it, I love it so much. I know Yakkun will, as well, and I can't wait." Riku gave an easy smile, as the woman continued. "But this isn't an open invite to spoil us every year."

"No, no ma'am. One time thing, I promise." The two broke apart, Riku taking a few steps back, awkwardly turning away. Hugging was not his favourite thing.

"That's good..." Sayaka dabbed the corner of her eyes with the heels of her hands, quickly wiping them on her dress. "You know, I've never said this aloud, but, I just want you to know, how important you our to me. I love you and care for you just as much as Ame, and Sora, and Fuka." Riku blushed, still looking away. A warm feeling crept up his neck. This was getting a touch too much for him. "Your parents may be distant, but they are still your parents, and I don't want to overstep my bounds, but...you're like a second son to me. I'll always be glad to have you with us."

Like an arrow made of flame, those words pierced straight into Riku's heart and further through, heat spreading throughout his being. The sincerity and love in her words sent the dark-bearing warrior for a loop, sputtering garbled words. "I...I..." He couldn't even bring himself to mumble "thank you." _Say something, you idiot, she just bared her heart for you. Come on!_ Riku saw the dessert tray behind Sayaka, and quickly reach forward to grab a marshmallow ball covered in chocolate, shoving into his mouth and chewing vociferously.

Pointing to his full mouth and mumbling out an indecipherable apology, Riku beat a hasty retreat, straight back downstairs into the basement, away from prying eyes, and away from how foolish he looked.

 _Smooth,_ he internally chastised himself.

 **~X-M-A-S~**

Two traditions rule the roost of Christmas Morning in the Kido family domicile.

One: No one was allowed in the living room before eight A.M.

Two: No one was allowed to start opening presents until everyone was present.

And every year, in response, Sora and younger sister Fuuka would always excitedly wake up well before the eight o'clock limit, sneaking upstairs into the hallway or kitchen to look upon their holiday bounty eagerly and covetously.

And every year, also in response, Riku and elder sister Ame would be the last two to arrive in the living room, usually taking coaxing from the others to awaken.

Riku entered the living room last, wearing his pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved shirt to cover his scarred arms and chest. The hot drink tray was awaiting him, and he was thankful to begin the day with a cup of coffee.

After his first sip, everyone settling in, Sayaka clapped, declaring, "Okay, let's start with the kid's opening the Santa gifts." One gift the four kids receive every year would "magically appear" on Christmas Morning, not there the night before, and was typically the largest and most extravagant of them all, delivering with care by none other than "Santa Claus".

If you believed in that stuff. Riku, and, evidently Ame, didn't.

"Why are we still doing Santa gifts, mom? We're not little kids anymore." The eldest Kido child, a girl of seventeen, took after her father in the way Sora took after their mother. Sandy blonde hair that formed into gentle curving waves, which she wore short, and sharing both her father's green eyes and the need to wear glasses.

"I dunno. Sora says he met him this year." Fuka, the younger sister of twelve-years-old, seemingly completed the sibling symmetry, split the difference between the two parents. Long dirty blonde hair, which she usually wore in twintails draped behind her shoulders, with eyes of dark turquoise. "Maybe you've been wrong all this time, sis."

"Riku, what's your say in this?"

The young man only shrugged between sips of coffee. "Dunno. Don't care. Never visited Halloween Town or Christmas Town, and I kind of don't want to." Worlds that revolved around a specific holiday and the festivities of that lone holiday sounded like a personal hell to Riku.

Sayaka made hurry-up motions with her hands. "Come on, kids. Do you wanna talk all morning or open up your presents? Let's go." She sounded more excited than all four of her kids together. Both her digital and video cameras were at her side, ready to document nearly every moment of the morning.

What followed was a two-hour frenzy of frantic parcel and paper tearing, cries of surprise, cheers of joys, thank yous, and your welcomes, hugs and kisses. Ame practically jumped through the roof when she opened her new laptop. Sora had gotten Fuka a plushy of a green fox-like creature (known as a Carbuncle on the Radiant Garden) which caused the young girl to squee in delight. Sora himself received a bag of a hundred – literally one hundred – chocolate truffles, seemingly having to take a second to process what that actually meant. It was even almost worth it to Riku, having to buy those dumb things, when Fuka opened up her bounty of _My Little Chocobo_ toys, given her joyous reaction topped the Carbuncle squee.

Almost worth it.

And during pauses between gifts and outbursts of happiness, Riku would sit back, sipping on his coffee, and reflecting, as he was want to do. On his adventures; his sins and triumphs; the things he was blessed to have; the places he wanted to go, the things he strived to achieve. But, above all, he thought about his family.

 _Sora is my brother._

 _Kairi is my sister._

Maybe he wasn't ready to give the rest of the Kido household titles and affirmations, but they still held a special place in his heart. Maybe he wasn't ready to discard his blood family, absent though they may be. But, he was ready, to admit to himself – maybe not openly, but to himself – that just because this wasn't the family he was born into, it didn't mean they weren't deserving of being his family.

Sora and Kairi and all the rest. Those that have come and gone, those that were still to appear. Those that he himself lost.

This was the family he needed.

This was the family he loved.


	3. Sora

**Sora**

Around three PM, the front door bell rang, ushering in tonight's dinner guests.

Sora and his father answered the door, welcoming in Kairi, her mother Mihara, and Aqua.

What followed was a chaotic whirlwind of welcomes and hellos, hugs, kisses, and handshakes, pleasantries and offering of hospitality. And, of course, gifts.

"More gifts?" Aqua asked Sora and Kairi in a sotto voice, holding a pair of gift bags for her from Yakumo and Sayaka.

More gifts.

Gifts and gifts galore. The Kidos offered their to Aqua and the Shiratori girls, where Kairi and her mother had presents for their hosts as well as both Fuka and Ame.

Even after all, that, still more gifts to come, as Sora spirited away with Kairi, downstairs to the basement. Ever since they were kids, scraping together their allowance to get something decent, the two – along with Riku – would always do their gift exchange in private, separate from their families and everyone else. Whether it was before, after, or during Christmas itself, it was something the three always did together and enjoyed together.

Riku was already downstairs, stretched out on a couch as the two descended. "Merry Christmas, loser." Riku greeted the redhead with a playful smirk.

"Nice. Real nice." Kairi shot back. The girl was carrying two shopping bags, one in each hand. Riku was looking at her in an expectant manner, as Sora walked past him and into his bedroom. "What?"

"Well, aren't you gonna say 'Merry Christmas' back?"

"Even today. Even every Christmas, you are such a pain."

"Now, you two, no fighting, not until we've opened everything up." Sora chided in jest, emerging from his room with an armful of brightly wrapped gifts. He knew they were only playing, but it was fun to get in on the act. Especially now, seeing everyone reunited once more.

Honestly, while his mother was very much looking forward to today – a full house of people celebrating the joy of the season – Sora had similar reasons to be excited. It was his first Christmas back home, technically his first Christmas since he was thirteen, his first year since realizing and expressing his feelings with Kairi, and... his first year since realizing but not expressing his feelings with Riku. While he hadn't said anything to anyone yet, Sora was incredibly certain with himself, that he loved Riku in the same way he loved Kairi.

Thinking on it, it was strange, even to this day. He was attracted to two people that couldn't be any different from one another (other than both being very,very, very, _very_ physically attractive). Kairi was cheerful and warm, openly affectionate and emotional, empathetic and supportive; she was this energetic and passionate person who always tried to see the best in others, but she could at times be indecisive and get caught up in her own thoughts and emotions, other times stubborn and headstrong, and maybe she took a bit too much on herself and tried to do too much. Riku, conversely, was often cold and distant, stoic to the point of absurdity. He was strong, both mentally and physically, but prone to bouts of anger and dark, sullen moods; he would rush forward to danger to help or save people, but rarely accept rewards or thanks, and in the end, would always do the right thing. Even if he needed a little push sometimes.

Of course, love was strange that way, most people would say. He didn't want to quantify or rank the people he loved, he figured if both were his best friend at one time or another, Sora could love both of them equally...even if he had yet worked up the nerve to tell Riku to his face.

One day, though. He's certain he would. I mean, it's not like all it took to confess to Kairi was being forcibly separated multiple times over the span of a year-and-a-half, then being put in multiple life threatening situations...

Oh!

Oh...

"Well, let's get to it then." Sora said, pushing aside any and all musings he may have had. He had split his presents into two piles, colour coordinated. "So, the stuff in blue wrapping paper if for Riku, and the pink wrapped stuff is Kairi's, obviously."

Kairi took a gift out of one of the bags, placing it behind herself. Then, she offered one bag to each of the boys. "Yours Riku. And for you, Sora."

Riku gave each of them disparaging looks, swiveling his view between his two friends, and each of their gift piles. "I got you one thing, each. One big thing, each." From his lap, he handed Sora a brown cardboard box, and Kairi a plain white envelope.

Kairi sighed. "You couldn't even bother wrapping them?

"Why would I waste my time with that? Merry Christmas, you knobs."

Despite the meager packaging and presentation, the two quickly made their way through to reveal the gifts.

"Holy crow... _Khalia_ tickets?" The redhead held the pair of concert tickets in her hand, marveling at them. Khalia was a huge pop idol who lived in Salm for a brief while. This "homecoming" concert was gonna be huge, and had been sold out for months. "These are freaking floor seats!? Riku!" She reach over and smacked him across the chest. "How much did you spend on these things?"

"That's very rude to ask someone, you know?" The silver-haired teen snorted, grinning despite himself. "Just...enjoy yourself. Take your mom or Aqua or the goof here or one of your other friends. Have fun, don't worry."

"Holy crap, dude!" Riku turned over at Sora's explanation, now smiling even more at the brunet's jubilance. In his hands he held a black, double-breasted chef's jacket. "I've always wanted one of these, and it's so cool." He turned around the article of clothing in his hand. It looked custom made – red lining and golden piping, with shiny gold buttons, and patching bearing imitations of his crown pendant on both sleeves and a big one branded on the back.

Both younger teens leaned in and hugged the sitting Riku, who was looking quite pleased with himself. At least, he was, until the embrace.

"You spoil us, you know that, right?" Kairi said, teasingly, gently patting the top of his head. Riku only rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You can pay me back by not hugging me so much."

Sora and Kairi soon urged the others to open up their gifts, each of the three teens walking away with a princely sum of goods. At the end of the frenzy, the three of them cleaning up the mess, Riku noticed that both Sora and Kairi were holding back one gift – the one behind Kairi, whereas Sora had a small box in bright pink wrapping paper. He knew a cue to exit when he saw one. Leave the two lovers to them and their moment.

"Well, since I got my stash, I'm gonna head up stairs to pick at the snack table." Riku rolled up over top the couch cushions, backwards, to land on his feet. Heading upstairs, he called, "See ya in a bit".

"He left in a hurry, didn't he?" Kairi asked, still gathering piles of packing torn wrapping paper into a garbage bag. She looked behind her to the gift on the ground, shyly rubbing one of her thighs with her foot.

Sora smiled. "He's never been one to sit around when there's nothing else for him." Bending down, the brunette picked up the sole remaining pink gift. "But, I do have one thing left for you."

"Funny, I do too." The young couple handed one another their presents, both wearing smiles that were shy and nervous at the same time. "At the same time? On three?" Sora nodded.

"On three... one, two, three...!"

Kairi undid the bow and removed the pink paper to find a small black jewelry box.

Sora ripped through the paper to reveal a plain, brown leather bound book, inscribed "Recipes From The Realm of Light".

The two looked back at one another, now each of them a little confused.

Sora went first.

"Well, open the case, silly. You can tell me about this in a bit." Kairi did what she was told, flipping the lid of the case open, showing a black choker was nestled inside. "I remember that you always liked my pendant, and I thought...why not get something so we could match?" Mounted in the center of the band was also a crown token, different from Sora's in that it lacked the hard angles and points, instead curving elegantly, ending with the tips blooming into fine starbursts. The token was made of a bright, violet enameled metal, with a bright blue stone set in the center of the crown. "I mean...maybe matching is a bit gauche. I can return it and get something else..."

Kairi looked at him and burst out into a radiant smile."No, no. I love it, Sora!" She turned around, holding her hair up, silently asking he attach the choker. Now, Sora did as his girlfriend bid, fitting the choker at the base of her neck and clasping it in the back. "It's beautiful, and I love that we have something we can share together. Thank you, so much." The beaming girl said, holding Sora's crown necklace in one hand, while pressing the fingers on her other hand to her new charm.

Relief washed over Sora. "I'm really glad. I was super worried you would panic or something. Now," he held up the strange book. It didn't look mass produced. This looked like it may have been hand bound. Personally made. "What's up with this?" He randomly flipped through the pages of the mysterious cook book, opening up to a chili recipe that looked like it was either incredibly delicious... or it would burn a whole through your gut. And the recipe was attributed to... Cid Highwind!?

"So, when I was thinking what to get you, I thought 'What does Sora like?' And I came up with three things: Adventuring, his friends, and cooking. So... ta-da!" The girl extended her arms in presentation. "It's your personal cookbook, filled with recipes that were either created or enjoyed by all our friends throughout the worlds."

"No way!"

"Yep!" Kairi was incredibly proud of herself, both for the concept, and with how well it was going over. "Everyone was super helpful to, I had more recipes than I could actually use. Tifa gave me a bunch, Anna and Elsa, there's a bunch of Halloween treats courtesy of Sally and Jack, Hiro got a bunch of stuff his aunt serves at his cafe. Mickey and Minnie even gave me the entire menu their personal chef uses."

During the explanation, Sora was quickly flipping around the book, page to page, just briefling skimming it's contents. _I think I'll make a few lunches and dinners during break, just to try this thing out._

"And I'm so glad you like it, too!" Kairi finished. "I thought, you know, it's just a cookbook, not really a first gift for your boyfriend sort of thing."

Sora shook his head in disbelief. "Are you kidding? This is so cool, and you must have put a lot of effort into it. I feel bad 'cause I just bought something pre-made from a jewelry store instead of," he violently and excitedly shook the tome back and forth, "this!"

Now the redheaded girl gave him a bemused look. "But I love this, too! I think this way more thoughtful and cool. It's like you found a way to condense our connection into a singular form. It's just-"

Before her rant could really take off, Sora leaned in, taking hold of both of Kairi's hands, and kissed his girlfriend. Gentle and warm, enjoying the soft plushness of her lips, and reveling in her warmth. In this close proximity, he got of whiff of the mingling aromas of her perfume and her body wash. A mix of sweet flowers, and warm spiced fruit.

When they parted, Kairi was blushing furiously, blinking at the suddenness of it all. "What was that for?"

"I think we were about to be stuck in a loop." The boy replied. Shifting over to her side, still holding her hands, he cradled her against him. "A loop about how we thought we failed each other, or each other did us better. I figured, it doesn't matter. My girlfriend is awesome, and she thinks I'm awesome. That should be enough. Merry Christmas, Kairi."

Kairi responded by leaning forward, tenderly pressing her forehead against Sora's. "Merry Christmas, hun."

 **~X-M-A-S~**

 _I can't believe I got to give this to him. Maybe it's for the best, I can give it to him in a more private setting._

Sora came up from the basement, heading to the the heart of activity at the moment: the family room. With his mom cordoning off the kitchen to prepare for dinner, everyone else were scattered about the house, enjoying themselves and relaxing, though the majority of people were milling about in the family room.

In fact, the one person he was looking for right now was present. Riku was currently speaking with his dad on the far end of the room, Yakumo currently standing behind the small bar set up in the room, playing bartender, as he tended to do every Christmas.

 _Doing it now might be better for both of us._ Sora thought. His dad had spotted him and was beckoning him over.

As Sora approached, his dad gave him a querying look. "Sora. What do you have there?" He pointed at the object Sora had gone to fetch, something long and thin covered by a loose cloth sheath. Riku, too, curiously examined it.

"Ah, nothing really. Just something for later." Sora waved his hand in the air, casually, trying to pass the thing off and dismiss further questions. The teen pressed forward before any more could be asked, "Why'd you call me over, dad?"

"Well, seeing as how it's Christmas, I was wondering if you two would like to mark the occasion with your first beers?" Yakumo went to bend down to grab at something, but halted in his tracks when he saw Mihara Shiratori was approaching. "Oh, hello again, Mihara."

Kairi's mom smiled congenially and nodded, but did not waste time getting straight to the matter. "Did I hear correctly? You're offering beer to a pair of underage teens?" Her smile had changed to a much more coy one, giving the dark-haired politician a slightly inscrutable hair. Yakumo grinned and chuckled, possibly trying to disarm her.

"Before you get all stern and protective with us, this is just something we've been doing with Ame." Yakumo began. "Me and Saya decided that, every once and while, usually on special occasions, and if we know she isn't going out anywhere for the night, it would be okay for Ame to have a drink. This way, if she has some controlled access and experience, she was less likely to do anything stupid on her own or with her friends." Sora's dad chuckled again, gently tapping the surface of the bar. "Slightly less likely."

All three men turned to watch Mihara's reaction, the woman staring down the other parent, thumb and index finger resting on her chin. After a second or two of deep consideration, her expression softened. "That's actually a fairly responsible idea. Just don't go about making a habit of offering other children alcohol."

Yakumo held a hand on his heart, the other in the air. "You have my word, madam Lieutenant Governor. Now!" Clapping his hands, Yakumo sunk beneath the bar once more. "To start the two of you off, let's begin with – what else!" He returned to full standing height with a pair of chilled bottles in hand. "The Humble Beginnings Lager from Kingmaker Brewing!" It didn't matter what the social situation was, Yakumo could never resist schilling for the brewery he helped found and served as brewmaster.

Sora went to accept the bottle, but Riku gave them a bit of a look, raising a hand in ask. "Actually, Yakumo, I was wondering if you had something with... a bit more teeth to it. Something like a red IPA or a stout; something dark?"

Shrewd looks overtook both Yakumo and Mihara. "Riku... Have you drank beer before?"

"No." Riku said, a lie. Sora knew it was a lie. The older kid had been very open with the fact that, when he had assumed the appearance of Xehanort, he had taken a bit to drowning his sorrows in alcohol, knowing no one would card him with a face like that. In fact, when hiding out on the Islands, he made a habit of only buying Kingmaker, in a show of support to his friends and family.

Yakumo did not seem entirely convinced, but did relent to the request, fishing out another bottle. "Alright. One Humble Beginnings," he pushed the first bottle to Sora, then placed the second one down on the counter, offering to Riku, "and a Super Massive Black Hole Dark Chocolate Stout for our more _discerning_ fellow." He cocked his eyebrows, but Riku didn't so much a flinch, silently giving thanks for the drink.

With the caps popped, the two best friends clinked the bottles in felicitation, and took their "first" drink.

Sora almost immediately regretted it, as his tongue was assaulted by a rather astringent bitterness he was not accustomed to nor did he enjoy. Once more, his sweet tooth seemed to work against him.

Riku, on the other hand, seem quite taken by the rich, heavy silkiness of his drink. "Nice. Very nice." He clicked his tongue in satisfaction.

"Nope. Nope. Not for me." Sora made a face after taking a second swig, finding it much the same as the first. His silver-haired friend made a beckoning motion.

"If you don't want it, don't waste it. Give it here."

"Yeah, I figured as much." Yakumo said with a sigh, Sora handing off his drink to Riku. "Too much of your mother in you for you to immediately gravitate to beer. That's fine, thought, I have another idea." His dad then reached for more things behind the bar, drawing out a bottle of golden-amber liquid and a thing of cola. "I'm pretty confident this will be your speed." A handful of ice in a glass, followed by a dram of the amber liquid, and then topping it off with the cola. Yakumo slid the fizzy concoction to his son. "Just don't tell your mother I let you have hard liquor. Or, that Riku had two beers." The blond beer brewer gave a slight, nervous cough.

Sora took a guarded sniff of his new drink, getting a whiff of, well, everyday soda. Once bitten, twice shy, but still willing to go for it, Sora had a sip and found himself rewarded with the cloying sweetness of the pop, cut by a warm and tantalizing bit of spice. _Now this is more like it._ Sora's eye widened as he nodded in approval, earning a bit of a laugh from the other two men.

By this point, Mihara had excused herself, followed shortly by Yakumo, Fuka calling out to him for help on something. This left Sora and Riku isolated and alone in that corner of the room.

 _Okay. Okay, this is working out._

"So," Sora began, still slowly nursing his rum and coke, "have you had that one before?" He pointed at Riku's dark beer.

"Nah, wasn't in season when I... took advantage of a bad situation. It's good, though." During his speech, Riku's eyes had fallen back on the object Sora was carrying at his side, head tilting to focus on it. "What is that, by the way?"

"Oh? This?" Sora held the sheathed thing up. "Well, I forgot. I forgot I had one last gift for you, figured this would be a good enough time as any to give it to you." Riku looked a bit peeved that he had more coming to him.

 _Well, now or never. Let's go._

Sora offered the gift to his friend. "Merry Christmas, one last time, man."

With a forlorn sigh, Riku set his drinks down and took the object, quickly pulling back the sheath to reveal a wooden toy sword. It had definitely seen better days, the blade was all scraped a nicked up, missing large chunks at the tip, where half the crossguard had been snapped off. The older teen furrowed his brow, trying to understand why exactly Sora had given him this, turning the toy over and over and over until it hit him.

Riku looked up, gazing directly into Sora's eyes. "This is mine. This my old toy sword from when we were kids." The brunet nodded in confirmation, but Riku was still marveling over the object. "But, where did you get this? I lost it what felt like ages ago." In truth, it hadn't been that long, but whenever anyone brought up how long they had been gone from the islands, Sora agreed it didn't feel like a year-and-a-half, but much, much longer. Time had escaped them.

"Well, you didn't lose it. You gave it to me, on Hollow Bastion, when you, uh, took the Keyblade from me." Sora didn't want to go into too much detail, he knew those events were still a raw spot for Riku. He really couldn't blame him. That day on Hollow Bastion was... intense, for everyone involved. "Then I was the one who threw it away, not really thinking about it again. Then, on a whim, I asked Leon if they had found a toy sword when renovating the castle. And..." Sora tapped the well-worn toy. "It's a little worse for wear, but I still can't believe he found it."

"No kidding."

"Yeah, yeah..." Sora nervously scratched at his head. "So, now, you have a reminder. Of how far you've come. How far we've all come." Riku didn't respond immediately, gazing down at his old toy in deep contemplation.

Tucking it under his arm, Riku showed of the barest hint of a warm, friendly. "This means a lot. Thank you." He said, quietly.

Sora's heart swelled. Very rarely would Riku show such warmth and sincerity, but it would come out, once every blue moon. The scarcity made those moments all the more special. Just one more little thing he loved about him.

 _Okay, okay. C'mon Sora._ He began to coach himself mentally. Again. He had been doing it for most of the day. _Today's the day. It's quiet. No one else is around. He won't make a scene. He won't. Just say that you love him, he'll be cool with it, he'll brush it off. Riku..._ Sora wasn't quite sure where Riku fell in terms of who he loved and didn't. What his romantic inclinations were. He was fairly confident he wouldn't return his feelings. _Doesn't matter. Just say it. You'll feel better about yourself._

 _Do it. Say it._

 _Do. It._

 _Say. It._

Subtly taking a short breath, Sora began. "Hey, Riku... I just..."

"Sora, sweetie! Could I get a hand in the kitchen for a minute?"

With his mom calling out for him, Sora froze in place, his already rattled confidence damaged even further. He was now consciously aware Riku was looking at him, eyes trained in anticipation for whatever Sora had begun saying.

"Um... I'll put a pin in that one. Gotta help mom, right?"

Turning on his heel, with a nervous laugh, Sora marched his way into the kitchen.

He'd lost his shot. His moment. Hesitation had killed it all, numbness spreading through his body.

 _You coward, Sora._

 **~X-M-A-S~**

Emerging from the chaotic confines of the kitchen a little while later, himself possessed with a cocktail of shame, frustration, bruised ego, and broken confidence. All of sudden, Sora was finding the confines of his house a little stuffy and noisy to bare. Maybe a quick trip outside would do him some good.

 _Fat chance._

A spacious porch encircled the back half of the cozy rancher Sora called home, overlooking a lush hillside, the rolling dunes of the sandy beach below, and the vast expanse of the ocean. It was a lovely, calming sight, and maybe just the remedy Sora needed for the time being.

Inhaling the cool night air as he stepped outside, he quickly became aware he wasn't alone on the porch.

"Oh, hey Kairi." The woman of his life was sitting on a faraway bench, quiet and distant and pensive. _She looks like she has something on her mind._ "I was wondering where you had vanished to."

Blinking out of her trance, the redhead turned with a smile. "Oh, yeah... I just needed to get a breath of air. Kinda felt suffocating in there."

"Yeah, pretty much the same." Sora shuffled down the bench, sitting right up next to the sweet girl, draping an arm around her shoulders. "Was there... is there something the matter?"

She only flashed a quizzical little grin. "Silly, I just needed to step away. Why would you even say that?"

"Come on," he said with a gentle nudge. "I know you better than almost anyone. I know when something is bothering you." Kairi seemed to shrink into herself, awkwardly rubbing her arm and muttering something. "Okay, if you don't wanna talk, I won't force you." Sora leaned back in the bench, taking in the view of the night's sky. It was clear, cloudless and boundless.

"No, no. I-" Kairi stopped herself, seeming to struggle finding the right words. "I think I'm still processing it. It may take a little time still."

"Well, when the time comes, I'll be here for you. Whenever that is." Leaning across, Sora gave her a soft kiss from Kairi. The redhead took his hand in hers, clutching it tightly. Truth be told, Sora wasn't just going to give up on getting Kairi to open up so easily. He always had the policy that being open and honest with your feelings was always the best, and he wasn't just going to let such a concerned look on his girlfriend pass so quickly. Open and honest. _Like how honest I've been with myself, right, Sora._ The brunette shifted uncomfortably in his seat. _Maybe I should take my own medicine..._

"Hey, so... I think I'm love with Riku, too."

Whether it was the nature of the confession or the suddenness of it, Kairi pulled away. Not out of revulsion, but simply so she could turn and look her boyfriend in the eye. The look in her purple-blue irises told him to keep going.

"I shouldn't say 'I think'. I know I am. Just like how I know I love you." It felt a little rough and harsh to him to say these things, considering his earlier defeat, but he pushed through his shame and frustration. This was important to him. And Kairi deserved to know, too. "Ever since we came home, I've been having feelings, daydreams...all sorts of stuff, involving him. At first it was a little confusing and alarming – I mean, I developed romantic feelings for not one but both my best friends, way to go Sora." He burst out in a nervous laugh. The entire time, Kairi remained silent, keeping eye contact, wordlessly urging him on further and further. "I've been trying to tell him, just to get it off my chest, but... I can't pull the trigger. I imagine it would've been the same way with you, if you hadn't confessed in the middle of a battlefield. But, yeah... that's been on mind lately. I probably should've told you sooner, sorry."

Sora's last words hung in the air of the wintery night, almost frozen, even if never quite got that cold in Salm. The light in Kairi's eyes changed from a gentle urge to comprehension, taking in each of her boyfriend's words, trying to treat them with the gravity they deserved.

Finally, she spoke.

"You know, that kind of makes sense, you loving Riku." Sora looked a little befuddled at the redhead's words. "Well, I mean, there's only two people I know of that you're that close to. That affectionate to. That caring of. Me, and Riku. Just the two of us. All those feelings must stem from the same place." Kairi place her palm atop Sora's heart. "And they lead to the same place."

The young Key Bearer breathed a sigh of relief. "You're not...weirded out or anything? By how confused and mixed-up I am?"

Kairi giggled, shaking her head, locks of red flying out in the dark. "No, course not. Though I'll say this, if Riku turns out to be gay or whatever, I am not letting go of you without a fight." A dark and fierce countenance overshadowed the graceful joyous of Kairi. In a low voice, she uttered, "I will not let anyone steal you away without waging war against them first."

A pregnant pause followed, Sora unable to react to...whatever that was. Kairi cut the tension, letting lose a casual laugh, which Sora soon followed with. Though, the truth was, what Kairi just confessed was more truth than joke.

When the laughter died into sputters and titters and smiles, Kairi smoothed out her hair, that same ponderous energy Sora first noticed in her this night returning. However, this time she spoke what was nestled deep down inside.

"I think Riku was right." She confessed quietly. It would barely be perceptible on any other night by this still one. "I'm fairly certain I have feelings for Aqua, too." Immediately, the girl began blushing furiously. Considering she had been denying this until very recently, the revelation must have came in short order. "Uh... don't tell Riku I said he was right, please? I'd never hear the end of this..." Sora chuckled, bringing her back into his embrace.

"It's okay, sweetie, your secret is safe with me."

"So..what do you think?"

"About?"

"About...this!"

"Well," Sora paused, trying to think of the right thing to say. Instead, he decided to go with the first joke that popped into his head. "Between me and her, you have incredible taste!" Miraculously, Kairi let out a snort of laughter. "Okay, yeah, that was bad of me."

"No. I mean, yes." Kairi shook her head. "I mean, you are about as handsome as she is beautiful, so you aren't wrong." She slapped a free hand on Sora's thigh. "Well, here we are. You, who is in love with both of his best friends."

"And you, who's in love with a woman you've said is like a big sister."

She looked slightly offended at that. "Well, when you put it that way, it makes me sound like some confused and mixed-up weirdo."

Sora moved his hand down to Kairi's neck, pressing two fingers against the emblem of her new choke. "Yeah, but, that just means we can be confused and mixed-up together."

"Yeah..." Kairi got quiet again, but this time, an active quiet. She half-stood from her seat, peering around the perimeter, making sure no one was coming. A devious smile was plastered on her face.

With one outstretched hand, Kairi pushed Sora down, back flat against the seat of the bench. The brunette was both surprised with what was happening, but also curious as to where this was going. He offered no resistance to what his girlfriend had in mind. Shifting her hands so they were clutching Sora's, positioning them above his head, and then bringing herself down, lying across his chest, looking him dead in the eye. Face to face. Nose to nose. "I am more than happy, being confused and mixed-up with you."

Kairi shut her eyes and kissed him, pushing the entirety of herself deep down, erasing all but the barest of distance between the two young lovers. Everything but the two of them vanished. All the stress and chaos of the seasons, the worry and pain and frustration, even their own jumbled up mess of feelings, the twisted knots in their hearts. It was just Sora and Kairi – the vast, open sky and the gentle, rolling sea.

Eventually, a long eventually, the two broke apart, both of their faces nearly as red as Kairi's hair. "Wow..." Sora blinked, big dopey grin on his face, "what was that for?"

"Because..." Kairi snaked down her boyfriend's, so as to rest her head on his chest. "Because you're sweet and kind, you always do your best to help everyone around you. Because you're honest with yourself, and try to get everyone else to do the same. Because I love you..." Sora wrapped one arm around her, placing the palm of his other hand on her head. "And, because I wanted to."

Sora let lose a brilliant smile.

"I'm glad that I get to spend this day with you, and that we can share this moment together."

The two remained in one another's silent, soft embrace for quite a while. Until the two of them were called in for Christmas dinner. Just the two of them, in the quiet night.

The sky was open and clear, and full of bright, shimmering stars.


End file.
